|
Light in the Asylum |
||||
 |
||||
"DSH at Night: Candles" by Michael RamseurThe stunning art of A. Andrew Chulyk and Michael Ramseur celebrates the unique and dramatic beauty of DANVERS STATE HOSPITAL, which was a historic landmark, not only in the landscape but in our cultural past. At the bottom of this page you will find photographs of DSH as it was, a new collection of Ramseur pastels, and links to other pages of this site-- where you will find more work by both artists and past exhibits of Danvers art, by them and by Jeremy Barnard and Michael Turcotte, photographers; and the BOOKS & DISKS . ____________________________________________________________________________________ PART A: THE DANVERS INSTALLATION, MAY 2004 "High on Hathorne Hill, with views stretching from the surrounding hills and countryside all the way to Boston and the ocean, sits a testament to the human condition no less formidable than the Hermitage..." So begins a passage written by John Archer, who heads the preservation organizations of Danvers, for Michael Ramseur’s unpublished history of the Danvers State Hospital, Haunted Palace. During the month of May, 2004, Archer’s estate at 10 North Street, Danvers hosted a dramatic art exhibit: Light In The Asylum, organized by Artship and commemorating the Danvers Hospital in all its colors and moods in art by sculptor A. Andrew Chulyk and pastel artist Michael Ramseur . The exhibit opened on Saturday May 1 at 5 p.m. with a Party and Auction benefiting the Danvers Preservation Fund, which-- with the Preservation Commission-- has been fighting the threatened demolition of this magnificent structure.
"Mama's Boy": sculpture by A. Andrew Chulyk... recalling the children abandoned in mental hospitals in the 20th century by their parents because of puzzling or inconvenient behaviors; the piece is assembled from artifacts found in the ruins
Archer’s passage-- and the book Ramseur wrote-- detail the role which this architectural masterpiece played in the history of the community and nation. On the National Historic Register, it was on the cutting edge of humanitarian and pioneering mental health care and research for its time; it became home to countless patients, many of whom were abandoned --first by their families, and then by the system-- as spiraling population and costs, loss of funding, and deterioration of staff and conditions within the buildings brought about abuse and neglect. The art of the sculptures and paintings of this exhibit give back a voice to the forgotten, and celebrate the vanishd beauty of the exterior edifice even as the dream of meaningful treatment died its death.
"Vortex Image # 11", pastel, by Michael RamseurChulyk began exploring the abandoned hospital in the mid-90’s, about 10 years after the State had closed its doors, with photographer Jeremy Barnard. The sadness of all those wasted lives was first documented by them in the exhibit Light Into Darkness, and they were joined by pastel artist and mental health worker Michael Ramseur for an expanded exhibit mounted by gallery Artship soon after all 3 artists were interviewed on the DVD version of the USA FILMS' "SESSION 9", which was filmed at the Danvers ruin.
Chulyk’s assemblages of objects found in the rubble are poignant and dramatic, utilizing items such as shoes, menus, toys, and other personal artifacts, as well as pieces of the crumbling architecture. The Ramseur pastels capturing the ruin's exterior face -- and moments in the lives of the patients-- in intense color and controlled distortions which convey sheer emotion. Presented together in the huge, elegant ballroom of the Archer estate, the overall effect was luminous and dramatic. .
Above, Chulyk's eight-foot "Every Day Starts the Same" presents a Danvers clockface caged with other objects speaking to the dullness of days passing in confinement. To the left of this hangs "Three-Eyed Danvers", a pastel by Michael Ramseur (which might be a fantasy-- the hospital as a people-devouring beast-- in the mind of an inmate)
Above, left: Chulyk's "Lobotomy TV", on which the image of the lobotomy operating room flickers; on right, Chulyk's "Bill" hangs across from "An Evening Out", his poignant sculpture suggesting preparations by two DSH nurses for a rare and temporary escape into town
Above, two brilliant and evocative pastels by Ramseur: "Black DSH Under Full Moon" and "DSH, Grass in Flames"Below: On left, Chulyk's "Phantasia" illuminates Ramseur's "Seclusion Room"; to the right, Ramseur's small photo-reproduction of his pastel "Kirkbride Distortion"
________________________________________________________________________________ The Chukyk PHOTOGRAPHS The photographs were not intended as art shots when Chulyk snapped images on the Danvers site in the mid-90’s; rather, he sought only to document the areas where he found discarded pieces he incorporated into sculpture, and in doing so, left a unique set of scenes which have now been irreversibly altered by time. These are all available at Artship in 9" or 10" x 12", matted in black and framed elegantly in black satin metal. Click on an image below to see the collection and to order.
Tower.....................Ghost Entrance....................House at DSH....................the Silver Screen
Blue Exit.....................................Kettles........................................Spires _____________________________________________________________________________ PART B: THE 2005 - 2007 RAMSEUR COLLECTION: click on any image below and scroll through the Chulyk photographs to review the RAMSEUR PASTEL collection and to order
Above: The Moon in the Yard at left; Restraint, at Right
DSH Shadows
_________________________
TO V IEW OTHER DANVERS EXHIBITS and ARTISTS,CLICK HERE THE ART-- AND the history, memoirs, photographs old and new, literature, exploration, and interviews-- along with passages by psychiatrists, artists, film-makers, writers, historians, and preservationists-- are all part of Mike Ramseur's new book, HAUNTED PALACE, which is the 250-page history produced in 2005... on CD-Rom, download, and IN PRINT.
To review, sample, and order the RAMSEUR BOOKS: CLICK HERE To order Ramseur's DVDs PALACE of SHADOWS and VORTEX..... click here:
FOR COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS, CLICK HERE or call 508-394-1789 |
||||
